Good Character matters and students benefit from emotional education as well as academic. Knowledge is power and education is key!  In this multi 3-day course students will learn what good character is and how to build their Character traits. The building blocks needed to grow into Strong, kind, and compassionate young adults.  Each lesson will deal with a life skill that is needed to build emotional intelligence, empowering students to help resolve conflicts that we deal with every day. The topics we will discuss in order are Stress Management, Self Esteem, and Empathy and kindness. The breakdown of classes each day are as follows:


Day 1: Stress, Worry, Anxiety; Coping With Confidence!
Students will learn what stress is, how it affects them, and different ways to cope with stress. Students will be encouraged to discuss what stressors or they may have or things they worry about. They will learn that Stress is something everyone experiences and that not all stress is bad stress, some amount of stress is normal. They will learn that short term stress can actually be good for you such as keeping you out of danger or challenging you to do better.  This is a very interactive lesson where discussion is encouraged.. Students will understand that Stress changes our body, mind, feelings, and behaviors. Finally, we will discuss strategies and techniques we can do to help manage and cope with Stress.

DAY 2: Self Esteem and Confidence;  How We "SEE" Ourselves Matters!
Self-Esteem! Self-a-what? How we "SEE" ourselves is so important! Especially for students at this age. Learning how to have confidence in themselves is crucial for success in so many areas including school, sports, and relationships. Students will learn to find value in themselves. We will discuss self-esteem, and why it can be low or high.  I will have students give examples of each.  What they feel good about or bad about. We will discuss ways to have high self esteem even when we make mistakes. Students will learn what confidence is and how to have it even when we aren't good at everything. We will talk about what we see when we look in the mirror and acknowledge everyone's uniqueness is perfect.
Students will learn how to have positive self talk and how to quiet the negativity in their heads. Students will also participate in a fun scavenger hunt that will give them the opportunity to find the value in themselves and use these objects to create a simple activity that they can use any time they are feeling low self esteem.

DAY 3: Empathy and Kindness: Learning to walk in someone else's shoes
Students will learn what Empathy is, and how it is different from Sympathy and Apathy. We will discuss the difference in each and how sympathy isn't bad it just doesn't connect us to another person like Empathy.  A short video will be shown to give students a visual of Empathy and Kindness in action. Students will learn that walking in others shoes isn't always easy, but showing kindness and compassion through Empathy isn't too difficult. It takes practice just like football, ballet, or math. We will discuss how to being mindful of others when they need Empathy through actions or actively listening and what that looks like.  We will be role playing with different scenarios where students will have the opportunity to share how they would show empathy in different situation.  
Students will understand that Empathy and Kindness are contagious, when they show kindness it is something that others will follow and give away as well. I feel Empathy is such a great quality to learn and practice at this age.

We will begin each class with introductions, expectations, and a fun fact. These are such wonderful lessons to teach the building blocks of good character traits. My goal is to create a safe, comfortable environment where students feel free to express their ideas and share their thoughts. It is very interactive and productively fun as I feel this type of teaching is best at this age. I do not discriminate gender, race, religion, nationality, culture, age, or abilities. I feel each student is unique and deserving to be treated with respect and kept safe at all times. No prior knowledge is needed. This course/camp can piggyback on the Character Building 101 3-day camp discussing Bullying, Conflict Resolutions, and Choices and Consequences if desired or taken before as they do not build on one another. I have them listed as 101 and 102 for your convenience to show different topics offered.

It is an honor and privilege to be able to teach these important life skills to your learner and I look so forward to seeing them in the classroom.